Tuesday, February 28, 2006

The Mermaid Meets Mr. Mendel

We watched The Little Mermaid II on Saturday night.

Yes, there's a 'II.' I can do nothing to stop it.

In the sequel, Ariel (the mermaid in the first film, who was transformed into human form at the end by true love or skilled animators or something) has a daughter named Melody. Melody has the potential to "become" a mermaid.

"So Ariel had a child with the prince, who then became the king," I said.

"Yes," Gloria said.

"And this child also has some kind of mermaid-fu thing going on," I said.

"Right again," she said.

"So does this mean that 'mermaid' is a dominant gene? Because if it were recessive, Melody would just be a normal human. Are we actually having this conversation?"

"Yes, it appears that we are," Gloria said. "And you're right--it would have to be a dominant gene."

"I feel kind of bad for that guy," I said. "His daughter's a mermaid, plus there are the in-laws to deal with. Do you know what they serve for every holiday? Fish. I bet he'd abdicate for a decent roasted turkey."